Chocolate Sandwich Cookies With White Chocolate Ganache Food

SANDWICH COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE GANACHE FILLING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Cut dough in half; roll out both halves to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out cookies with a round 1-inch cookie cutter, rerolling scraps to get 72 cookies. Coat 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray; place cookies on sheets 1 inch apart and bake 1 batch at a time until firm, 3 to 5 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Simmer chocolate chips and half-and-half in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring once or twice, until chocolate melts and is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes; remove from heat. Let cool 1 minute. Spread 1/2 teaspoon chocolate ganache on a cookie; press a second cookie on top to form a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and ganache.

CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar until soft and creamy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in egg and vanilla.
• Add the flour mixture, and mix on low speed until combined. Divide the dough in half, and wrap each in plastic wrap; chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares using a cookie cutter. Transfer to parchment paper-lined baking sheets, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Gather any scraps, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes before rerolling and cutting into squares. Bake until edges just begin to brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
• To make the white chocolate ganache, bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and add 9 ounces white chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes, covered. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl, and stir until completely smooth. Place in the refrigerator, and chill until thick enough to spread, about 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Use an offset spatula to spread ganache on half the cookies; top with remaining cookies.
• Melt remaining 3 ounces white chocolate in a small heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Make a small cone out of parchment paper, or fit a small pastry bag with a coupler and #2 Ateco tip. Fill, and decorate as desired.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE SANDWICH COOKIES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE AND STRAWBERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
• Stir the 2 cups chocolate chips and butter in a medium bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water until the chocolate mixture is melted and smooth. Remove the bowl and set aside. The mixture may be thick.
• Combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat the egg mixture using an electric mixture, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the melted chocolate mixture and beat until well blended. Add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Stir the remaining 1 cup chocolate chips into the batter. If the batter is very soft, chill for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the batter to firm up slightly. The batter can be prepared 1 day ahead. Let the batter stand at room temperature at least 1 hour before continuing.
• Using a small cookie scoop, drop the batter in rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2-to-2-inches apart. Bake the cookies until slightly firm to touch and crackled all over tops but still soft in the center, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets.
• For the white chocolate ganache: Bring the cream to simmer over medium heat in a heavy small saucepan. Remove the pan from heat and add the white chocolate chips. Stir until melted and smooth. Chill the ganache until firm enough to spread, 1 to 2 hours. The ganache can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled. Let the ganache stand at room temperature 2 hours to soften slightly before using.
• For the strawberry preserves: Mix the preserves and the lemon zest in a small bowl.
• Spread about 1 teaspoon ganache onto the flat side of each cookie to within 1/4-inch of the edge. Spoon 1/2 to 1 teaspoon strawberry preserves on the ganache side of half of the cookies. Place the remaining cookies on top, ganache side down, to form sandwich cookies. Chill until the ganache is firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Insert lollipop sticks into the ganache filling, if desired
• For the white chocolate drizzle: Place the white chocolate in a small bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of one side of each sandwich cookie, using a fork. Chill until the chocolate has set, about 10 minutes. The drizzle can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store airtight in the refrigerator.

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Place finely chopped chocolate in small heatproof bowl.
• Set over warm water on low heat (water should not touch bottom of bowl).
• Stir very frequently until almost melted. Remove from heat and hot water; stir until smooth, pressing out any lumps with back of spoon or a rubber spatula.
• In small saucepan over low heat, heat cream just to a simmer, stirring frequently.
• Remove from heat; all at once, add about two-thirds of hot cream to melted white chocolate.
• Gently stir to incorporate, then beat or whisk until smooth, scraping bowl as necessary with rubber spatula.
• Gradually stir in remaining cream.